Long Bien Bridge

This bridge was officially named Paul Doumer; however, Ha Noi people still often call them Long Bien Bridge or Cai River's Bridge.

The bridge was designed by the architect who is the father of Eiffel Tower, a symbol of France. Vietnamese workers together with their cleverness, agility and activeness have assembled packages of metallic objects, rivets, and the way using crane under the instruction from French architects and they have established a solid, beautiful bridge that lasts until now.

The position chosen to build this bridge is exactly where a vessel of France fired into O Quan Chuong and the North Entrance before. The bridge consists of 20 pedestals and is 30 metres deep and 13.5 metres high from the level of water. At the right side is an arch bridge which is 800 metres long whilst the entire bridge is 2,500 metres long. The most original feature of this bridge is the two roads on both sides and a railway in the middle of the left path. In February of 1902, the bridge was inaugurated and has become the path connecting Ha Noi and Hai Phong. At there people laid the first stretch of rail of the railroad which would go across the Indochina. At that time, Long Biên Bridge was one of the four hugest bridges of the world and is the most prominent one in the Far East.

Long Bien Bridge nowadays has been in the close connection with the history of the two sacred wars of the nation and it is also the witness of the improvement and developing of our country after the national unity. Long Bien Bridge is a part of the capital Ha Noi; therefore, all striking national changes happened in Ha Noi had the attendance of this bridge. In 1945, Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence at Ba Đinh Square, surrounding by millions of the suburbanites who passed Long Biên Bridge to be present there and be asked with an attentive voice of Uncle Ho: "Do you all fellow-citizens hear my voice clearly?". In the October of that year, Ha Noi was flooded with flags and flowers for the liberating capital day. Furthermore, in the resistance to America, a number of reinforcing troops and tanks carrying guns and bullets crossed the bridge to support for the South Vietnam. 21 years later, this bridge had another chance to witness the victory of Vietnamese people and their happiness that is revealed on their eager faces when achieving independence and freedom for the nation; that is the day of liberating the South Vietnam.